Poll

Nets cool off Suns

Tuesday, 18 March 2014 - 12:53pm

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK—Deron Williams felt so good, he even dunked for the first time this season.
Or maybe he didn’t.

“We’re trying to debate if that was a dunk,” said Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd.
It wasn’t pretty but it went in—just like nearly every other shot Williams took in one of his best games of the season.
Williams scored 28 points in leading the Nets to a 108-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns last night that extended their home winning streak to nine.
Williams shot 11-of-13 from the field and looks all the way back after ankle problems wrecked his first half of the season.
He was two points off his season-high and rose above the rim to throw down a dunk that finished off a fourth-quarter fast break started by Andrei Kirilenko’s steal.
The dunk wasn’t exactly a no-doubter—but far better than what Williams was capable of a couple of months ago.
“I’m going to give it to him,” said rookie Mason Plumlee.
“He’s gone up about three times now with great courage,” Plumlee added.
“If at first you don’t succeed, keep trying.”
“I’m definitely feeling better,” Williams said after shooting 80 percent in a game for the first time in his career.
“Still not jumping that high, as you can tell, but definitely feeling better and more confident every day,” he added.
Markieff Morris scored 18 points and Gerald Green 17 for the Suns, who were seeking a perfect three-game trip against Atlantic Division teams after winning at Boston and Toronto.
But they never led and fell 1.5 games behind Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“We can’t have these semi-efforts on nights. We had terrible effort tonight,” fumed Suns’ coach Jeff Hornacek.
“This team has a bunch of all-stars on it,” he noted. “This should have been a big game to get hyped up.
“Maybe we were worn out with four games in five nights,” Hornacek added. “I don’t know.”